Student allegedly stole $60,000 in textbooks

A Scott Community College student is accused of stealing $60,000
in textbooks from the school bookstore over several months, selling
them at area pawn shops, a college spokesman said.

Darren L. Warren, 39, of Davenport was arrested Thursday by
Davenport police and charged with first-degree theft, a felony. He
was released from the Scott County Jail after posting bond.

“It’s not a small number of books,” said Alan Campbell,
associate director for communications for the Eastern Iowa
Community College District.

He said the thefts occurred over several months, beginning in
October. Books were stolen from the bookstore on numerous
occasions.

“It varied from day to day,” Campbell said.

The bookstore does not have a detector at the entrance and
usually is staffed with one or two clerks at the counter near the
front, Campbell said.

The bookstore has dealt with shoplifters before, but “nothing
ever of this size,” Campbell said.

He doesn’t know if multiple students were involved. So far, only
Warren has been charged.

Campbell said police made college officials aware three to four
weeks ago. He said police caught Warren after evaluating pawn shop
records.

Police reports were not available Thursday. A police
spokesperson could not be reached for comment.

The college has since temporarily limited access at the
bookstore, including cordoning off sections of the store to
students, who must ask clerks to bring books to them, he said.

“Our main concern is we have to stop this from ever happening
again,” he said. “We’re doing our own investigation into that.”

The college also is talking about investing in a detector for
the bookstore’s entrance, an expense it could not afford in the
past, Campbell said.

Warren has a history of robbery convictions in Scott County. In
1996, he was convicted on two separate charges of first-degree
robbery.

In October 1995, when he was 23, he robbed a convenience store
on Pine Street. Also that month, he stole clothes from TJ Maxx on
Kimberly Road and pulled a handgun on a security guard while
leaving the store with an infant in his arms.

He unsuccessfully appealed his 25-year prison sentence for those
crimes.

He was released from prison January 2009.

Campbell said he is not sure Scott will allow Warren to continue
as a student.

“All of that has to be evaluated,” he said. “We have a policy in
the student handbook that deals with students who steal from the
school. We’ll discipline according to those regulations.”

Campbell did not specify what the policy says.

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ORIGINAL STORY: A Scott Community College
student allegedly stole $60,000 in textbooks from the school
bookstore over several months and sold them at area pawn shops, a
college spokesman said.

Darren L. Warren, 39, of Davenport was arrested Thursday by
Davenport police and charged with first-degree theft, a felony. He
was released from the Scott County Jail after posting bond.

"It's not a small number of books," Alan Campbell, associate
director for communications for the Eastern Iowa Community College
District, said.

He said the thefts occurred over several months, beginning in
October. Books were stolen from the bookstore on numerous
occasions.

"It varied from day to day," Campbell said.

The bookstore does not have a detector at the front door and
usually is staffed with one or two clerks at the counter near the
front, Campbell said.

The bookstore has dealt with shoplifters before, but "nothing
ever of this size," Campbell said.

He doesn't know if multiple students were involved. So far, only
Warren has been charged.

Campbell said police made college officials aware three to four
weeks ago.